McConnell shoots down Lindsey Graham’s proposed abortion ban

‘I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this will be dealt with at the state level,’ the Republican leader says

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell shot down Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s bill that would ban abortion at 15 weeks, saying that he would prefer the issue be left to the states.

The Senate minority leader was asked about the ban that Mr Graham proposed on Tuesday during Senate Republicans’ weekly press conference after their policy luncheon.

“I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this will be dealt with at the state level,” Mr McConnell said.

Mr Graham intoduced his bill on Tuesday while surrounded by anti-abortion groups, saying “we should have a law at the federal level,” despite the fact he previously said that abortion should be left up to the states.

“If we take back the House and the Senate, I can assure you we’ll have a vote,” Mr Graham said. “If the Democrats are in charge, I don’t know if we’ll ever have a vote.”

Republicans have been under fire for their stance on abortion ever since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v Jackson decision overturned Roe v Wade in late June. Republicans hope to add at least one Senate seat to their conference to win back the majority.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer swiftly condemned the legislation by Mr Graham.

“And let me add this: Republicans are twisting themselves into pretzels trying to explain why they want nationwide abortion bans when they said they’d leave it up to the states,” Mr Schumer said in a floor speech Tuesday.

White House press secretary Karine Jeane-Pierre also condemned the legislation.

“President Biden and Congressional Democrats are committed to restoring the protections of Roe v Wade in the face of continued radical steps by elected Republicans to put personal health care decisions in the hands of politicians instead of women and their doctors, threatening women’s health and lives,” she said in a statement.